Judge rejects ballot access arguments

By Gary D. Robertson

Published: Friday, May 30, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 30, 2008 at 8:13 a.m.

RALEIGH - A judge has upheld North Carolina's high standard requiring tens of thousands of signatures to be collected before a group is officially recognized as a political party, ruling there's no fundamental right for the party of a voter's choice to be on the ballot.

The Libertarian Party sued the state in 2005, arguing requirements to get on the ballot and stay on it are too onerous, violating party members' rights to freedom of speech and association. The Green Party of North Carolina later joined the lawsuit.

Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood, who heard the case in a non-jury trial earlier this month in Wake County, ruled late Tuesday that the "state has a compelling interest in requiring a preliminary modicum of support before recognizing a political party and placing its candidates on the ballot."

Hobgood wrote that the state has an interest "in avoiding confusion, deception and even frustration of the democratic process in the general election."

Every four years, the ballot swells with races for president, Council of State, the Legislature and the courts in addition to local races. The more parties on the ballot, Hobgood added, "the greater chance there is for ballots that are so long as to be unwieldy."

This year, under the law, groups had to collect nearly 70,000 voter signatures to receive official party status - one of the highest thresholds in the country, according to the party leaders and candidates who sued.

"We're deeply saddened by this ruling," Barbara Howe, chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina, said in a release Wednesday. "Not only did the judge support the state's power to take away our right to choose who represents us, he also upheld the state's assertion that North Carolina voters are not smart enough to fill out a so-called long ballot."

The State Board of Elections said last week that the Libertarian Party had provided enough signatures to get back on the ballot this November. But the party spent nearly $140,000 to get back on the ballot, in part by hiring solicitors to help collect signatures.

The state Attorney General's Office, which represented the elections board and Attorney General Roy Cooper as defendants in the lawsuit, declined comment Wednesday through a spokeswoman.

After any election when a party's candidate fails to receive 2 percent of the vote for governor and for president, the party must begin the signature process again. The requirement had been 10 percent of the vote until that was changed in 2006.

The Libertarian Party has surpassed the signature requirement for all but one presidential election since 1976. The party's gubernatorial candidate received 1.5 percent of the vote and the presidential candidate received 0.5 percent of the vote in both 2000 and 2004. Libertarians comprised 0.23 percent of the registered voters in November 2004.

The Libertarian Party sued when the State Board of Elections decertified it as an official party in August 2005 because it fell about 22,000 signatures short to enter that year's municipal elections.

The Green Party has never met the petition standard and isn't likely to reach it before the June 2 deadline for the November election.

<p>RALEIGH - A judge has upheld North Carolina's high standard requiring tens of thousands of signatures to be collected before a group is officially recognized as a political party, ruling there's no fundamental right for the party of a voter's choice to be on the ballot.</p><p>The Libertarian Party sued the state in 2005, arguing requirements to get on the ballot and stay on it are too onerous, violating party members' rights to freedom of speech and association. The Green Party of North Carolina later joined the lawsuit.</p><p>Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood, who heard the case in a non-jury trial earlier this month in Wake County, ruled late Tuesday that the "state has a compelling interest in requiring a preliminary modicum of support before recognizing a political party and placing its candidates on the ballot."</p><p>Hobgood wrote that the state has an interest "in avoiding confusion, deception and even frustration of the democratic process in the general election."</p><p>Every four years, the ballot swells with races for president, Council of State, the Legislature and the courts in addition to local races. The more parties on the ballot, Hobgood added, "the greater chance there is for ballots that are so long as to be unwieldy."</p><p>This year, under the law, groups had to collect nearly 70,000 voter signatures to receive official party status - one of the highest thresholds in the country, according to the party leaders and candidates who sued.</p><p>"We're deeply saddened by this ruling," Barbara Howe, chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina, said in a release Wednesday. "Not only did the judge support the state's power to take away our right to choose who represents us, he also upheld the state's assertion that North Carolina voters are not smart enough to fill out a so-called long ballot."</p><p>The State Board of Elections said last week that the Libertarian Party had provided enough signatures to get back on the ballot this November. But the party spent nearly $140,000 to get back on the ballot, in part by hiring solicitors to help collect signatures.</p><p>The state Attorney General's Office, which represented the elections board and Attorney General Roy Cooper as defendants in the lawsuit, declined comment Wednesday through a spokeswoman.</p><p>After any election when a party's candidate fails to receive 2 percent of the vote for governor and for president, the party must begin the signature process again. The requirement had been 10 percent of the vote until that was changed in 2006.</p><p>The Libertarian Party has surpassed the signature requirement for all but one presidential election since 1976. The party's gubernatorial candidate received 1.5 percent of the vote and the presidential candidate received 0.5 percent of the vote in both 2000 and 2004. Libertarians comprised 0.23 percent of the registered voters in November 2004.</p><p>The Libertarian Party sued when the State Board of Elections decertified it as an official party in August 2005 because it fell about 22,000 signatures short to enter that year's municipal elections.</p><p>The Green Party has never met the petition standard and isn't likely to reach it before the June 2 deadline for the November election.</p>